Jerzy Janowicz overcome with emotion after reaching final of the Paris Masters

It is many years since a male tennis player has exploded onto the scene as
suddenly as Jerzy Janowicz, a 21-year-old qualifier from Poland, who will
play today in the final of the Paris Masters.

By Simon Briggs

11:16AM GMT 04 Nov 2012

The nine Masters tournaments have been so closely guarded by the “Big Four” that the last man from outside the closed circle to win one was Robin Soderling, in Paris two years ago. And even he was the world No. 5 at the time.

Janowicz, by contrast, came to Paris ranked No. 69 in the world. Now, after beating home favourite Gilles Simon 6-4, 7-5 in yesterday’s semi-final, he can expect to climb into the top 30. He should even claim a seeding at January’s Australian Open.

It has been an extraordinary run. After two victories in qualifying, the 6ft 8in Janowicz has beaten five top 20 players in a row: Philipp Kohlschreiber, Marin Cilic, Andy Murray, Janko Tipsarevic and now Simon.

Asked yesterday whether he had received any offers of sponsorship during the past week, Janowicz replied “The street next to my house actually is completely blocked. There is like about nine or ten cars, TV [trucks]. There is no way to get to my house right now.”

After his heavy workload, Janowicz admitted that he is taking painkillers, and that he has told his parents not to come to the final for fear of changing a winning habit. He must also have an urgent need to rehydrate after blubbing his way through several post-match interviews.